,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #heii ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #cj1 #bjbf,mr4 ,bell 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,wagner1 ,mr4 ,cleaver1 ,mr4 ,bost1 and ,ms4 ,budzinski7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,united ,states ,postal ,service to submit a report to ,congress on mail and package delivery service performance in the ,st4 ,louis region1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,st4 ,louis ,postal ,accountability and ,reform ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,united ,states ,postal ,service serves as a critical piece of social and economic infrastructure for millions of residents and businesses in the ,st4 ,louis metropolitan area4 7#b7 ,in ,august and ,september of #bjbe1 the ,united ,states ,postal ,service ,office of ,inspector ,general published two audit reports in response to congressional inquiries from ,senators and ,representatives from ,missouri and ,illinois3 the ,office of ,inspector ,general ,audit ,report #be-jig-,r#be1 ,efficiency of ,operations at the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center1 ,st4 ,louis1 ,,mo and the ,office of ,inspector ,general ,audit ,report #be-ajj-,r#be1 ,kansas-,missouri ,district3 ,delivery ,operations--,st4 ,louis1 ,,mo4 7#c7 ,the ,office of ,inspector ,general found that the ,kansas-,missouri ,district ranked among the lowest-performing postal districts in the country for mail delivery from ,may through ,july #bjbe1 averaging #dth out of #ej districts nationwide1 and below average for package delivery during the same period4 7#d7 ,the ,office of ,inspector ,general identified over #hi1jjj pieces of delayed mail across seven audited delivery units on a single morning in ,june #bjbe1 the majority of which went unreported in the ,united ,states ,postal ,service's internal tracking system1 limiting management's ability to identify and address service failures4 7#e7 ,the ,office of ,inspector ,general found that the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center missed its letter processing clearance time target more than half of the days reviewed between ,february and ,april #bjbe1 and identified millions of delayed mailpieces during a site visit in ,june #bjbe4 7#f7 ,the ,office of ,inspector ,general found that staffing shortfalls1 including high turnover1 elevated vacancy rates1 and workforce availability below the ,united ,states ,postal ,service's own goals1 contributed to operational challenges at both the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center and ,kansas-,missouri ,district delivery units4 7#g7 ,the operational challenges identified in the #bjbe audits are consistent with deficiencies documented in a prior ,office of ,inspector ,general audit of the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center in ,july #bjbb1 and ,congress has an obligation to ensure that corrective actions are implemented and that ,st4 ,louis-area residents and businesses receive the reliable postal service they are entitled to4 #c4 ,report on mail and package delivery service performance in the ,st4 ,louis region ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,postmaster ,general shall submit1 to the ,committee on ,oversight and ,government ,reform of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,homeland ,security and ,governmental ,affairs of the ,senate1 a report evaluating ,first-,class ,mail service performance in the ,st4 ,louis region for fiscal years #bjbc1 #bjbd1 and #bjbe4 ,such report shall include-- 7#a7 a comparison of on-time delivery performance for ,first-,class ,mail1 ,marketing ,mail1 ,priority ,mail1 and ,ground ,advantage products in the ,st4 ,louis region against-- 7,a7 the national average2 7,b7 similarly sized postal processing districts2 and 7,c7 the ,kansas-,missouri ,district's own performance in prior years2 7#b7 an explanation of the causes of any service performance in the ,district that lags behind national averages2 7#c7 an analysis of workforce conditions across the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center and ,kansas-,missouri ,district delivery units1 including-- 7,a7 vacancy rates by position type1 including clerks1 mail handlers1 carriers1 maintenance personnel1 and supervisors2 7,b7 turnover rates for carriers and clerks2 7,c7 absenteeism and unscheduled leave rates2 and 7,d7 the operational impact of workforce shortages on mail processing1 transportation1 and delivery2 7#d7 an assessment of the accuracy of delayed mail reporting in the ,delivery ,condition ,visualization system and the ,mail ,condition ,visualization system across the ,kansas-,missouri ,district1 including a description of any systemic underreporting and the steps taken to correct it2 and 7#e7 the status of corrective actions taken in response to deficiencies identified in the ,office of ,inspector ,general ,audit ,reports #be-jig-,r#be and #be-ajj-,r#be1 including-- 7,a7 progress toward filling vacancies at the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center and ,kansas-,missouri ,district delivery units2 7,b7 improvements to preventative maintenance completion rates on automated equipment2 7,c7 load and unload scan compliance trends2 7,d7 outbound trip on-time1 cancellation1 and extra-trip rates2 7,e7 package scanning accuracy across ,kansas-,missouri ,district delivery units2 and 7,f7 implementation of the #ab recommendations issued in the ,office of ,inspector ,general ,audit ,report #be-jig-,r#be and the #b recommendations issued in the ,office of ,inspector ,general ,audit ,report #be-ajj-,r#be4 #d4 ,accountability ,the ,postmaster ,general shall include in the report required under section #c a description of the management accountability systems in place at the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center and ,kansas-,missouri ,district delivery units to prevent recurrence of the operational deficiencies identified in the ,office of ,inspector ,general ,audit ,reports #be-jig-,r#be and #be-ajj-,r#be1 including-- 7#a7 the performance metrics and oversight structures used to monitor mail processing1 transportation1 and delivery operations on an ongoing basis at the ,st4 ,louis ,processing and ,distribution ,center and ,kansas-,missouri ,district delivery units2 7#b7 the steps taken to ensure that delayed mail is accurately reported in the ,delivery ,condition ,visualization and ,mail ,condition ,visualization systems across all ,kansas-,missouri ,district delivery units1 and the mechanisms in place to verify reporting accuracy at the district1 area1 and headquarters levels2 and 7#c7 the processes in place to ensure that staffing shortfalls are identified and addressed in a timely manner1 including recruitment1 retention1 and workforce planning strategies specific to the ,st4 ,louis region4